Inventing American Religion: Polls, Surveys, and the Tenuous Quest for a Nation's Faith

Robert Wuthnow

Abstract

A billion dollar a year polling industry purports to tell us not only which political candidates will win, but also how we are practicing our faith. How many Americans went to church last week? Have they been born again? Is there a war on Christmas? Are atheists winning? Do miracles happen? No matter the topic, pollsters have the answer. It has become easy to take all of this for granted. And yet, we must ask if all is quite what it seems. Response rates have plummeted. A large majority of the public doubts that polls can be trusted. The time has come for serious questions to be asked about th ... More

A billion dollar a year polling industry purports to tell us not only which political candidates will win, but also how we are practicing our faith. How many Americans went to church last week? Have they been born again? Is there a war on Christmas? Are atheists winning? Do miracles happen? No matter the topic, pollsters have the answer. It has become easy to take all of this for granted. And yet, we must ask if all is quite what it seems. Response rates have plummeted. A large majority of the public doubts that polls can be trusted. The time has come for serious questions to be asked about the polling industry’s role in American religion. Understanding the place of polls and surveys in American religion requires stepping back in time, looking at how this method of seeking information began, and what happened to bring us to where we are today. This book traces that history, examining the powerful rise of polling, and tackling the difficult questions of how we should think about polls and surveys in American religion today.

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